RESOLUTION -2015 A RESOLUTION OF THE NORTH OGDEN, UTAH CITY COUNCIL ENCOURAGING WEBER COUNTY TO RECOGNIZE THE SIGNIFICANT SHORTCOMINGS OF THE EXISTING NORTH BRANCH LIBRARY SITE AS A COMMUNITY GATHERING PLACE LIBRARY AND CONSIDER A NEW PROPOSED SITE FOR THE NORTH BRANCH LIBRARY AS THEY ALLOCATE FUNDING TO CONSTRUCT AND UPGRADE COUNTY LIBRARIES USING THE $45 MILLION BOND APPROVED BY TAXPAYERS IN JUNE 2013. WHEREAS; a significant national movement exists to upgrade libraries from book repositories to Community Gathering Places with a variety of interrelated facilities, programs, and resources; and WHEREAS; the Weber County Library Board of Trustees, under the guidance of the Weber County Commission, has endorsed this library vision by constructing or authorizing new Community Gathering Place branch libraries in South Ogden, Huntsville, and Roy; and WHEREAS; the Weber County Library Board of Trustees, under the guidance of the Weber County Commission, is in the process of upgrading the existing library in Ogden to meet the Community Gathering Place standard; and WHEREAS; in June 2013 the voters of Weber County accepted this vision of Community Gathering Place libraries by approving a $45 million bond to fund said upgrades; and WHEREAS; the Weber County Library Board of Trustees in their studies, proposals, and documentation leading up to the 2013 bond election largely ignored the needs of library patrons in the north part of Weber County and completely failed to provide a viable pathway to provide a comparable Community Gathering Place library for these patrons in their bonding plans; and WHEREAS; the North Branch of the Weber County library system has the highest per capita use of any library in the system and, according to a February 2013 Dan Jones & Associates report, is also the branch most visited, and WHEREAS; the North Branch of the Weber County library system already experiences library utilization on par with the significantly-larger, much better equipped Pleasant Valley Branch library; and WHEREAS, The patrons of the North Branch library pay Weber County property taxes at the same rate as library patrons in other parts of Weber County. As a matter of fundamental equity North Branch patrons should be entitled to a comparable level of library services; and
WHEREAS; the North Branch library, built in 1983, has 11,500 square feet of finished library space. Finishing the unfinished basement would result in a library of 23,000 square feet, not much larger than the 19,600 square foot Huntsville branch which serves a population that is currently 1/6 of that served by the North Branch and which will only grow to 1/5 of that served by North Branch by 2040; and WHEREAS; A significant feature of a Community Gathering Place library is adequate onsite, dedicated parking to support the library s various and significantly-expanded features and programs; and WHEREAS; The Weber County Library Board of Trustees recognizes this need and has provided for 200 dedicated parking spaces at the Pleasant Valley Branch, 110 dedicated spaces at the Ogden Valley Branch, 290 dedicated spaces at the new Southwest Branch; and WHEREAS; an expanded North Branch library, which currently serves a population similar to that of the Pleasant Valley Branch, and which already experiences equal or higher usage than Pleasant Valley Branch, should have at least 200 dedicated parking spaces; and WHEREAS; The North Branch library currently has 24 dedicated parking spaces. There is no property adjacent to the library that can be acquired for the necessary 200 parking spaces; and WHEREAS; because of the significant parking issues alone, an expanded, Community Gathering Place North Branch library at its current location will be obsolete before construction begins; and WHEREAS; a significant feature of a Community Gathering Place library is an adequately-sized, multi-purpose auditorium; and WHEREAS; Current proposals provide for an auditorium at North Branch that will seat less than 100 people; and WHEREAS; The Pleasant Valley Branch has a 250-seat auditorium with movable, multi-level seating; and WHEREAS; the North Branch, which currently serves a similar population as the Pleasant Valley Branch, and which is projected by 2040 to serve a much larger population, should have an auditorium of comparable size and features to the one at the Pleasant Valley Branch; and WHEREAS; ceiling heights, structural columns, and space limitations prohibit construction of a usable, properly-sized auditorium within the North Branch structure; and
WHEREAS; a significant feature of a Community Gathering Place library is that it be adequately sized to support the community it is designed to serve; and WHEREAS; the North Branch Library patrons consistently complain that there is no space for them when visiting the North Branch Library; and WHEREAS; the Weber County Library System s Library Program Guide shows that numerous programs are offered at the County s Community Gathering Place branches that are not offered at the North Branch because of space limitations. North Branch patrons are therefore doubly penalized for their undersized facility; and WHEREAS; The current proposal calls for doubling the 11,500 square foot space of the existing library to 23,000 square feet; and WHEREAS; with the exception of programs, which can t come to the North Branch because of space limitations, North Branch experiences library utilization on par with Pleasant Valley Branch which is three-times larger; and WHEREAS; The North Branch, which serves a 2010 population of 34,120, will serve a projected population of 60,678 by 2040. The Pleasant Valley Branch, which serves a 2010 population of 37,953, will serve a projected population of 51,480 by 2040; and WHERERAS; The Pleasant Valley Branch has approximately 38,835 square feet of library space. At a minimum the upgraded North Branch should be comparable in size, features, and programs to the Pleasant Valley Branch; and WHERERAS; for the reasons listed the existing North Branch Library building and site will not now, nor can it ever be expanded to serve the Community Gathering Place needs of library patrons of northern Weber County; and WHERERAS; the question the Weber County Library Board of Trustees erroneously continues to focus on is How should we spend the $5 million allocated for the expansion of the North Branch? The real question should be, How can we best use the funds available to put the residents in the north part of Weber County on the pathway to library facilities and services on par with those provided to the rest of the County?; and WHERERAS; in a private meeting with two members of the North Ogden City Council, the County Library Director touted $2 million in savings that the County was expecting from construction at the Southwest Branch and offered to reroute those savings to help fund the significantly under-funded North Branch enhancements; and WHERERAS; the Weber County Library Board of Trustees has established six criteria which must be met when considering a library site. These criteria include: Site capacity, Parking potential, Accessibility, Visibility to passers, Building fit, and Development Cost; and
WHERERAS; at the request of the Weber County Library Director North Ogden City identified a city-owned, 4-acre parcel of land in a prime location that meets or exceeds each of these criteria. The commercial value of this site is approximately $1.2 million; and WHERERAS; the North Ogden City is willing to donate this site to Weber County for construction of a new Community Gathering Place library on a site that will meet the library s parking requirements and provide for future expansion. Now, therefore be it resolved by the City Council of North Ogden, Utah that: SECTION 1. Community Gathering Place Libraries. The City Council supports the Weber County Library Board of Trustees and Weber County Commission s endorsement of Community Gathering Place libraries and supports efforts to assure that the patrons of the North Branch have the same access to library features and programs as those provided to patrons at other Weber County Library branches. SECTION 2. New Library Site. The City Council submits that the building and the current site of the North Branch Library are entirely inadequate to meet the current and future requirements for a Community Gathering Place library to serve library patrons in the north portion of Weber County. The City Council requests that the Weber County Library Board of Trustees and the Weber County Commission actively consider a new location, proposed by North Ogden City, which will meet these requirements. SECTION 3. Proposed Site to be Donated. The City Council is willing to donate a highly-qualified, four-acre parcel of prime property to Weber County for construction of a new Community Gathering Place library provided Weber County deeds the existing North Branch library and property back to North Ogden City. Weber County already established precedence for such a transfer when they deeded the building and site of the Southwest Branch to the city of Roy. SECTION 4. Local Fund Raising. The City Council will actively encourage, promote, and support local fund-raising efforts to help pay for upgrades and amenities for a new Community Gathering Place branch library. SECTION 5. Effective Date. This Resolution shall become effective upon passage. North Ogden City: Brent R. Taylor North Ogden City Mayor
CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTE AS RECORDED: Aye Nay Council Member Bailey: x Council Member Satterthwaite: x Council Member Stoker: x Council Member Swanson: x Council Member Urry: x (In event of a tie vote of the Council): Mayor Taylor Attest: S. Annette Spendlove, MMC City Recorder